Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Poem in Vietnamese
January 11 was an incredibly warm day! While Wisconsin was locked in freezing rain and fluffy snow, we were in the 80s! I couldn't believe it. I used my newly learned Vietnamese vocabulary and wrote a poem about it.
11-1-2008
Mưa đong tư nhân mưa xuân!
Mưa đong quen vảo mơt ngây
Nông qưa! Nông qưa!
Tôi thich nông vảo môt ngây!
Qủa đau mưa ơ phô
Tôi hanh phưc vảo môt ngây
Winter pretends to be spring
Winter forgets for one day
Too hot! Too hot!
I love the heat on one day!
strawberries rain on the street
I'm happy on one day!
11-1-2008
Mưa đong tư nhân mưa xuân!
Mưa đong quen vảo mơt ngây
Nông qưa! Nông qưa!
Tôi thich nông vảo môt ngây!
Qủa đau mưa ơ phô
Tôi hanh phưc vảo môt ngây
Winter pretends to be spring
Winter forgets for one day
Too hot! Too hot!
I love the heat on one day!
strawberries rain on the street
I'm happy on one day!
Labels: poetry, Viet Nam and the West
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year and Thoughts on 2007
2007 has certainly been a year of radical change in my life. I started the year in Milwaukee and ended it living in Ha Noi!
It's been a year of unprecedented challenges for me. Adjusting to life in a foreign land and trying to learn something about the customs and cultures whille trying to do somewhat of a midlife career change has made me reach down into the depths of my mind, body and soul. I've done things I never thought I could accomplish. And I don't mean the kind of things you might think. I'll give you an example:
New Year's Eve I received a bicycle from one of my fellow teachers, Sean. He's going back to New Orleans for a few months and didn't want the bike anymore. So I travelled "downtown" to his hotel to pick it up. It was too far to ride the bike, so I ended up having to take it by motorbike. I thought I was going to hire an extra motorbike and have them tie it on to it, but I ended up having to hold on to the bike! So here I am, holding on to a 40 pound bike sitting crossways on the seat, and clutching onto the drivers shirt and bike with one hand. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to drive the bike about three or four miles through the crowded Hanoi streets back to the apartment! This is just something I never imagined doing!
New Year's in Vietnam is celebrated differently. Some people exchange gifts, but it is just not a big deal. The big deal comes about a month from now during Tet. It is curious that the most popular New Year's song isn't "Auld Lang Syne," but "Happy New Year" by ABBA! In fact, I had to teach my students "Auld Lang Syne" (which I thought was important because it was written by Robert Burns. To jog your memories of this song here's the link to you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcLMH8pwusw
with a video of ABBA.
When I was a teenager, I thought ABBA was kind of a Swedish cornball band. But looking at the video I have a new appreciation for them--the sentiments of the song are quite sweet and needed in a war torn world.
The Lyrics:
No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
Its the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Nows the time for us to say...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I
Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I
So I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and joyous 2008!
It's been a year of unprecedented challenges for me. Adjusting to life in a foreign land and trying to learn something about the customs and cultures whille trying to do somewhat of a midlife career change has made me reach down into the depths of my mind, body and soul. I've done things I never thought I could accomplish. And I don't mean the kind of things you might think. I'll give you an example:
New Year's Eve I received a bicycle from one of my fellow teachers, Sean. He's going back to New Orleans for a few months and didn't want the bike anymore. So I travelled "downtown" to his hotel to pick it up. It was too far to ride the bike, so I ended up having to take it by motorbike. I thought I was going to hire an extra motorbike and have them tie it on to it, but I ended up having to hold on to the bike! So here I am, holding on to a 40 pound bike sitting crossways on the seat, and clutching onto the drivers shirt and bike with one hand. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to drive the bike about three or four miles through the crowded Hanoi streets back to the apartment! This is just something I never imagined doing!
New Year's in Vietnam is celebrated differently. Some people exchange gifts, but it is just not a big deal. The big deal comes about a month from now during Tet. It is curious that the most popular New Year's song isn't "Auld Lang Syne," but "Happy New Year" by ABBA! In fact, I had to teach my students "Auld Lang Syne" (which I thought was important because it was written by Robert Burns. To jog your memories of this song here's the link to you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcLMH8pwusw
with a video of ABBA.
When I was a teenager, I thought ABBA was kind of a Swedish cornball band. But looking at the video I have a new appreciation for them--the sentiments of the song are quite sweet and needed in a war torn world.
The Lyrics:
No more champagne
And the fireworks are through
Here we are, me and you
Feeling lost and feeling blue
Its the end of the party
And the morning seems so grey
So unlike yesterday
Nows the time for us to say...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I
Sometimes I see
How the brave new world arrives
And I see how it thrives
In the ashes of our lives
Oh yes, man is a fool
And he thinks he'll be okay
Dragging on, feet of clay
Never knowing he's astray
Keeps on going anyway...
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have a vision now and then
Of a world where every neighbour is a friend
Happy new year
Happy new year
May we all have our hopes, our will to try
If we don't we might as well lay down and die
You and I
So I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and joyous 2008!
Labels: New Year's, Viet Nam and the West
Christmas in a far away land
Thefamiliar things are still here. Santas and Trees. Lights strung and glittering. Even the carols: We wish you a Merry Christmas, The First Noel (and a newer one We will live forevermore because of Christmas Day). But the shops, schools and offices go on. It's a decoration, not a reason to come home.
Most people don't exchange presents on Christmas, as Tet is the big holiday here. Some songs such as the ones above and "Jingle Bells" are familiar, and even have Vietnamese versions. Other customs such as Christmas stockings and reindeer, Wisemen and Angels, are totally unfamiliar. It's a weird thing to experience Christmas here!
But it was not an empty Christmas!
I went to St. Joseph's and that was the most familiar. I bought a creche at the book shop there and a few days later attended a packed mass on Christmas morning. This really again got me in contact with my spiritual roots. Just as enriching was going to the Christmas party at Lang Hoa Binh on Christmas Eve. The children just lit up at the presents I gave them. The joy they felt really was the best gift you can get! Then I went to Huy's house on Christmas Eve. I passed on a tradition that I rreceived from my friend Barb of pizza and scrabble on Christmas Eve! It was a blast! People from the neighborhood came and it was a great party! I received a coat, ornaments and a cute coffee cup from Huy, his family and Huong, a neighbor who I also teach! It was just a super day!
You can see more about my Christmas on my you tube and my space websites.
www.myspace.com
(look for lawalsh)
www.youtube.com
(look for maryecroy)
Labels: Catholic Church, Christmas, Viet Nam and the West
